Spider-Man Sets Box Office Records | Hour 3

Summary

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The Dan Le Batard Show

Episode: Spider-Man Sets Box Office Records | Hour 3
Date: August 3, 2026
Location: Live from The Elser Hotel, Downtown Miami
Main Theme:
A lively discussion blending sports (focusing on MLB trades and financial parity), pop culture (the historic Spider-Man box office phenomenon), and signature show banter. Topics span salary cap debates in baseball, the enduring crossover power of Spider-Man, lighthearted in-show challenges, and athlete contract drama.

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Episode Overview

This hour of the show pivots around two pillars:

1. Major League Baseball's seismic Skubal trade and the ongoing salary cap debate, including issues of competitive balance between wealthy and small-market teams, and
2. The insane cultural and financial impact of the latest Spider-Man movie, which shatters opening records and rekindles the public’s love of the movie-going experience.
   The episode also features classic Le Batard Show humor with personal challenges, quirky hypotheticals, and debates about athlete contracts and off-field behavior.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. MLB Salary Cap and Competitive Balance

[00:37–06:08]

• Dan Le Batard frames the Skubal trade as a rare move that crosses into the wider sports consciousness, igniting debates about fairness in the sport.

• The crew (Jeremy Tache, Zach Harper, Tony, Amin Hassan) analyze a promo from MLB, arguing it's rare for sports leagues to so directly court public opinion ahead of potential work stoppages.

• Parity/parity concerns dominate discussion, with recurring focus on how billionaires are using "fan opinion" to pressure for a salary cap that limits player salaries—as Tony quips:

  “I just find it really funny that billionaires are using the consumer… to cap wages to attack the millionaires.” (Tony, 03:08)

• Teams like the Dodgers and Mets are used as prime examples:

  • The Dodgers “win because they’re run well,” per Amin Hassan, and consistently have both high payroll and farm system efficiency.
  • The Mets spend lavishly but don’t succeed due to poor management.

• Discussion highlights that winning isn’t just about spending but running an organization:

  “You run your team well and your farm system well, you can continuously win… The problem has been ultimately winning the entire thing.” (Amin Hassan, 04:27)

• Dan points out that teams with large payrolls (like the Mets) are sometimes still unsuccessful, while well-run teams with smaller budgets (Brewers, Rays, Guardians) remain competitive.

2. Spider-Man Sets Records and Its Pop Culture Impact

[06:08–10:23]

• Spider-Man's new film smashes opening box office records:

  • Local theaters are sold out with very limited “bad seats” left.
  • Zach Harper recounts personal difficulty securing a ticket, emphasizing the scale of the film’s demand:

    “I live in a place where there are three mega theaters… every single showing was either sold out or like, the front row was the only thing that was available.” (06:08)

• Box Office Numbers:

  • $360 million domestic opening, $927 million worldwide opening weekend—beating Avengers: Endgame.

    “They almost hit a billion on opening weekend. This is… the worst possible thing for Hollywood because it just reinforces… every movie has to be a franchise.” (Zach Harper, 08:08)

• Cultural & Generational Appeal:

  • Spider-Man connects with diverse groups due to multiple iterations (e.g., Miles Morales) and themes that resonate across ages and backgrounds.
  • Comparison with Batman: Both are “most human” among superheroes; Spider-Man is more relatable due to Peter Parker’s everyday struggles.

    “Peter Parker is more identifiable than Bruce Wayne because Bruce Wayne ultimately is a billionaire.” (Tony, 12:06) “Spider-Man… has real world problems, dude. Like he can’t pay his rent, his boss hates him…” (Zach Harper, 10:23)

• Memorable Quote:

  “The greatest of the superhero characters that connect with people enough to save… the movies are… the two superheroes who are almost most human. It’s Batman and Spider-Man.” (Dan Le Batard, 11:30)

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3. Weekend Observations & Signature Banter

[14:24–27:29]

• Amin’s Game Notes:
  • Amin humorously lists “Top Five Things the Dodgers Don’t Need but Will Acquire Anyway” (15:02), satirizing LA’s endless resource advantage:

    “Number two, James Harden. And the number one thing the Dodgers don’t need but will acquire anyway. The last Miller Light in the cooler at the cookout.” (15:02)

• “Arm over head” challenge:
  • Dan challenges Zach to keep his arm raised during the segment, leading to playful bickering about endurance, pride, and pain tolerance (14:36–29:06).
• Soccer and Arsenal’s transfer drama:
  • Zach humorously blames NBA’s Sam Presti for Arsenal’s inability to pay a massive transfer fee for Vinicius Jr., tracing a convoluted line connecting NBA salary offers to Premier League cash flow (22:10–23:47):

    “Because Sam Presti tendered a contract offer to Spencer Jones… that has put Denver in a payroll situation… as a result has shortened the cash flow they have available to pay for Vinnie… Keep your third eye open folks.” (Zach Harper, 22:11)

• Bar Rescue Podcast plugs, American Ninja Warrior jokes, and light roast of recent sports controversies:
  • Sophie Cunningham’s online prominence compared to NBA role players:

    “All this focus on Sophie Cunningham is the equivalent of the NBA being obsessed with Aaron Wiggins. What are we doing here?” (Zach Harper, 18:07)

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4. Baseball Contract Drama: Harrison Bader’s Scooter Incident

[29:46–37:39]

• Discuss a rare instance of a “guaranteed” MLB contract voided:

  • Harrison Bader of the Giants is not being paid after a 2am scooter accident, violating his contract’s conduct clauses.

    “These contracts have in it certain things that you’re not allowed to do… Bader cannot be on a scooter and get into this accident contractually without the Giants saying, we’re going to take your money.” (Dan Le Batard, 34:21)

• Reveal Bader’s second such accident (the first alcohol-related in college):

  • Amin details:

    “In this one, he ran into a fire engine, which then rolled over the foot that was already injured… In the other one, he hit a curb and then struck a parked pickup truck on a motorized scooter at 2am…” (Amin Hassan, 35:16)

• The segment mixes schadenfreude, empathy, and incredulity that someone could repeat this risk.

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5. Odds & Ends / Remaining Sports Stories

[36:41–38:09]

• Brief take on whether Bader will ever ride a scooter again—consensus: He probably will.
• Conversation pivots to the rare move of San Francisco teams clawing back money from guaranteed contracts.
• A hint at further NFL coaching injury controversies (Shanahan).

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• “Billionaires are using the consumer in this movement to cap wages to attack the millionaires.”
  — Tony, [03:08]

• “The Dodgers… just did it because they could.”
  — Amin Hassan, [15:02]

• On Spider-Man’s relatability:

  “All the other superheroes… don’t have any, like, real world problems. Spider-Man… he can’t pay his rent. His boss hates him. His girlfriend is on again, off again… That’s what grounds him.” — Zach Harper, [10:23]

• Dan Le Batard on superhero humanity:

  “The greatest of the superhero characters… are the two superheroes who are almost most human. It’s Batman and Spider-Man.” — Dan Le Batard, [11:30]

• On actor contracts:

  “Bader cannot be on a scooter and get into this accident contractually without the Giant saying, we’re going to take your money.” — Dan Le Batard, [34:21]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:37–06:08] MLB Skubal trade, MLB salary cap, parity debate
• [06:08–10:23] Spider-Man movie craze, box office numbers, cultural analysis
• [14:24–17:00] Amin’s Weekend Observations, Dodgers satire
• [21:14–23:47] Arsenal’s finances and NBA salary cap—comedic deep dive
• [29:46–37:39] Harrison Bader’s scooter accident, contract implications
• [14:36–29:14] In-show challenge (Zach’s “arm over head”), signature Le Batard banter

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Tone & Style

The conversation is witty, irreverent, and bouncing between pop culture analysis and sports nerd debates. The hosts lean into hyperbole, self-deprecation, and inside jokes, ensuring that even technical or obscure subjects remain lively and engaging.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode bridges the gap between current sports/business headlines and cultural milestones, all through the show’s signature lens: skeptical of power, fiercely funny, and aware that the best stories are the ones where sports, movies, and mishaps collide. Whether unpacking who should get paid, why Spider-Man swings higher than anyone else, or just arguing who can keep an arm raised the longest, it’s the Dan Le Batard Show at its eclectic best.

Transcript

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[Dan Le Batard]

You are listening to the Dan Levatar show in partnership with the DraftKings Sports act now live in all 50 states.

I want to play again for the audience after this Skubal trade that has a whole lot of people throughout baseball and even outside of baseball. Really a seismic kind of trade, unusual in a lot of different ways, but chief among them. I just don't see many trades anywhere that get the attention of all sports fans, whether you like baseball or not, claiming unfairness about something. It's just not something we see very often. And we played those ads recently where baseball is getting out in front with the propaganda this sport is going to lock out. There will be a work stoppage. It will not be avoided. And again, baseball things fans, just as they got everything fixed, will be disappointed about the fighting over money. But let's just play one of those ads that's unlike any ad I've ever seen a sports league put together.

[Jeremy Tache]

Like to see a little bit more parity, man, a little bit more competition. Let's give these young guys like a salary for 100%. He's a salary cap. That's the biggest issue in baseball right now.

[Zach Harper]

You got a loaded team like the Dodgers going against teams that don't have any big names.

[Jeremy Tache]

It needs to be more equitable.

[Tony]

It's imbalanced big time when it comes

[Dan Le Batard]

to big market, small market,

[Zach Harper]

NBA, NHL

[Dan Le Batard]

and football, it seems to be more competitive. A small market could compete because all the teams would have a cap.

[Zach Harper]

I think the Reds would have a

[Jeremy Tache]

better chance to win if the salary cap was implemented.

[Tony]

If it's fair, it's more competitive fun for baseball.

[Dan Le Batard]

All the teams being competitive and being able to have a fun evening. Does that commercial land exactly the same way. If one play goes differently in last year's World Series and Toronto wins the World Series, one play, any place in the seven games goes differently or in the last game, the Blue Jays are your champion. With what kind of payroll? Certainly a payroll smaller than Boston and New York's in their own division. Correct.

[Amin Hassan]

So last year it was smaller than New York, but more than Boston because remember, Boston has sort of been shedding payroll over the last five years. Toronto had a top five payroll. It was still $100 million less than the Los Angeles Dodgers.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you guys think the conversation is the same? They can air that commercial if the Blue Jays win the World Series?

[Tony]

Yes. Yeah, I don't think that changes much. I think 80% of baseball fans is a very strong number that are in support of a salary cap. I just find it really funny that billionaires are using the consumer in this movement to cap wages to attack the millionaires.

[Dan Le Batard]

Seattle Mariners. Greg Cody owes us a walk from here to Seattle because he didn't think that there was a way that the Seattle Mariners wouldn't be in that World Series after they came back from. The Blue Jays came back from down to oh, if the Mariners had won the World Series last year, it's. It all lands the same.

[Tony]

You're looking at a one year outlier. You're still looking at a World Series that featured the LA Dodgers, I think.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, but I'm looking at a World Series that featured the LA Dodgers, who could have lost and should have lost to the Padres. They should. And the Padres also spend plenty.

[Tony]

That's not. That is a super majority when it comes to fans opinion. It's not going to. It's not going to change things all that much. You'll go from 80% to what, 74.

[Dan Le Batard]

I just know that the Marlins have a chance and they just swamp the Mets and the Mets don't have a chance. And the Mets are spending as much as anybody. Like the Mets. The Mets have a payroll that rivals anybody's payroll outside of the Dodgers.

[Amin Hassan]

It's the thing about baseball, and it's why the Dodgers have become what they are, is because if you run your team well and you run your farm system well, you can continuously win. Look at the brewers, look at the Guardians. Look at any example of these small market teams that continue to succeed the race. The problem has been ultimately winning the entire thing. They might win their league. They get to the World Series, they lose. The Guardians lost to the Cubs. The Rays, back in the day, the Rays lost to the Dodgers in 2020, which was a shortened season that nobody really remembers. The Dodgers won that World Series.

[Dan Le Batard]

The Tigers could have won the whole thing last year and they had payroll that can't afford school.

[Zach Harper]

Yep.

[Amin Hassan]

And the Dodgers are the Rays. They're run by Andrew Freeman. Their farm system is immaculate.

[Dan Le Batard]

That's the thing, though. The Mets are run poorly. Look, man, one of the great stunning things of my lifetime is that Brian Cashman is still allowed to run the Yankees when they haven't won the world series in 17 years. Like, what the hell is that? Like that. That team has never allowed that kind of patience with that kind of money from its leader. They'll get to the playoffs, but they never win the World Series because it's hard to win the World Series. We'll get back to this in a second, but Amino Hassan is with us now, and we've got some weekend observations to get to with the mean. I also want to find out. My friends can't get into Spider man here. It's all sold out. Spider man is sold out here, locally, at least your movie friends, because theaters have closed down. So there aren't that many theaters where it is that you can still see some of this. The one that I would go to if I were interested in these kinds of movies, which I'm not, no longer is open. But Spider man is doing monster business. I mean, do you care?

[Zach Harper]

Yeah. I went and saw Spider man on Saturday with my kids and to get tickets. I mean, I live in a place where there are three mega theaters within about three miles of my house. And every single one of them had 8 billion showings of Spider man, both laser 3D, you know, IMAX, all that stuff. And every single showing was either sold out or like, the front row was the only thing that was available. Finally got four tickets side by side for a 10:40am showing on Saturday. That's how hard it was to get to see Spider Man.

[Dan Le Batard]

Can you guys look up some numbers for me? I thought this was kind of dead. I know that. I know that Top Gun is something that got people back to the theaters. The Odyssey is getting people back to the theaters. But is Spider man going to end up dwarfing everything? Because I have not heard all theaters sold out. And no one can get into a movie unless it's bad seats, front seats, or bad dimes.

[Mike]

The one thing I am seeing, at least by the Regal, by me and Mike, is the one that they've actually done it to where the. The seats themselves are smaller.

[Amin Hassan]

Right.

[Mike]

There's not as many seats in the auditorium as there used to be. There's like maybe 20 or 30 seats now. So I'm looking at. There's 47 different showings. And, like, I mean, said, yeah, like, the only stuff that's available is the front row. Unless you want to do 10:30.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is this the biggest opening ever? Like, is this. Because I thought this was all dead. I thought this could never happen again.

[Amin Hassan]

$360 million opening weekend. It beat Avengers Endgame. It's according to the Hollywood Reporter, the top opening week.

[Dan Le Batard]

So what's happening there on the general idea that Spider man is connecting obviously across generations in a way that all the other movies can't.

[Tony]

Spider man had a huge resurgence too, with younger people. Young people frickin love Spider Man. So you get your core audience that's going to be in on Marvel no matter what. But this new generation is certainly pushing it.

[Jeremy Tache]

I mean.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Zach Harper]

And I think, you know, one of the things about Spider man is it is a franchise that has done well. They've put out solid entries every single time. So even if you're not caught up with the mcu, you're not a Marvel Comics fan. You go to a Spider man movie, you're going to get a good movie. You're going to get a good movie that's entertaining, that's funny, that's good action, that's got some heart to it. Tom Holland is one of the biggest stars in the world. Zendaya is one of the biggest stars in the world. And, and I think they, you know, I know Mike disagrees with me. I think they totally landed the plane with this, by the way. 360 million domestic, $927 million worldwide for the opening weekend. That is an absurd number. They almost hit a billion on opening weekend. This is, by the way, the worst possible thing for Hollywood because it just reinforces in their eye, in their minds, the idea that, that every movie has to be a franchise and every movie has to have existing IP and there is no space for a regular small movie with, you know, good characters and actors that are maybe not the biggest stars in the world.

[Tony]

Yeah, it's tough because all the lessons from the Odyssey probably go out the window as execs. Just look at the success of the existing IP in Spider Man. But I seem to be the only person on the planet that didn't really rate the movie all that much. And it's a, it's a global sensation. I think one thing that we're overlooking is just how strong generationally the IP of Spider man has just become.

[Dan Le Batard]

Are you guys, you're sorry, are you guys of the opinion that Spider man is the biggest of all of these things that if I tell you, connects

[Tony]

with younger people in more profound ways than Batman does? I think it has become. Spider man has become the tentpole intellectual property when it comes to comic books. Because the cartoons are great. You have Miles Morales, it hits different demos it hits different ethnicities. Spider man is just such a massive piece of America. And, yeah, they've done a really good. Disney in particular, has done a really good job with that IP in making sure it's become the biggest possible thing.

[Zach Harper]

And I would also throw in, like, the thing about spider man, the character. And I think of myself as a kid reading the comic books. All the other superheroes were, like, saving the world from this impending disaster. Whether you're talking about Superman and Batman with the D.C. side or on the Marvel side, the Avengers or, you know, or, you know, Iron man or any. Any of those guys. Captain America. When you talk about spider man, it's like he's literally your friendly neighborhood Spider man. He's like, he. He lives here. He lives in qu. Queens. Spider Man. Peter Parker's broke. Like every other superhero. They don't have any, like, real world problems. Spider man was like the first comic book character. Like, he has real world problems, dude. Like, he can't pay his rent. His boss hates him. Like, his girlfriend is on again, off again. And then also he has to save the city and regular citizens from these crazy lunatics, the sinister syndicate or whatever you want to call it. So I. I think there's something about spider man that's. I know Dan won't agree to this, but it's very grounded as a superhero. It's like, yeah, this guy has real world problems beyond. I have. I must save everyone.

[Dan Le Batard]

Wait a minute, though. You say that I won't agree with this when what you guys are saying is making me think, weirdly, that the greatest of the superhero characters that connect with people enough to save not just communities but the movies are the two superheroes who are almost most human. It's Batman and spider man. Now, Spider man, obviously, the swinging through cities with webs isn't very human, but among superhero talents and abilities, these guys are the two most human of the popular superheroes, are they not? And they've got the two most popular franchises, right?

[Tony]

But he's identifiable. Peter Parker is more identifiable than Bruce Wayne because Bruce Wayne ultimately is a billionaire. Whereas all the things that amin highlighted is why so many people connect to the character. This guy gets bullied in high school. This guy's main Persona gets trampled at work.

[Zach Harper]

He continues to get bullied. Like, it's not like, oh, now I'm strong. I'll beat up all the bullies. This won't happen. Like, he's still kind of like, gets the short end of the stick in his everyday life. What are you doing? Dashe. But, you know, it's. It is. That's what grounds him, right? In a way that Bruce Wayne can never. Because at the end of the day, we're all going to say, yeah, but you're a billionaire. Oh, I'm sad my parents died. Yeah, but, like, that happened a long time ago. Dude, you're a kid when it happened. Come on. Like, you're fine. You got billions. You got supermodels and. And jets and boats and stuff like that. And also, by the way, Batman, not for nothing, kind of like takes out petty criminals with a zeal and a zest that makes me question, like, hey, what's going on with this guy?

[Amin Hassan]

Poor people.

[Zach Harper]

You got. You have billions of dollars and you're gonna take out some guys that are trying to rob a bank? Hey, how about you take out, like, oh, I don't know, some of the ills of society, like homelessness.

[Tony]

There's this billionaire tax bracket in Gotham. Gotta take out the mayor. Don't like him.

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[Dan Le Batard]

18 down levitar.

There's sunglasses in boxes today. Putting my bed in the hospital. Ending our lives all the same.

Jeremy Tache.

It's the final nightgown.

This is the dan levatar show.

Put it on the poll. Does Batman take out the common criminal with a zeal that makes you question him? Yes or no at Levitard Show. I mean, how long do you think you could keep your left arm over your head?

[Zach Harper]

My left arm over my head? Yeah, probably for the end of this segment. Like, how high? Like here?

[Dan Le Batard]

Or like, yeah, up high. I don't think you can do it till the end of the segment. You think you can do this? No, there's no way you're gonna do it till the end of the seg. But let's go ahead and start the weekend observations with Amin and see how long he can hold that arm up before it gets tired. Because I'm going to say five minutes.

It is time for Amin to share his game notes. No one in the media will tell you what happened better than my boy.

[Zach Harper]

I mean, Weekend observations is brought to you by Miller Light legendary moments start with the light Dan. MLB trade season is a buzzing. A time where teams try to beef up their lineups or shore up their bullpens, trying to make the leap from pretenders to contenders with a single acquisition. Or if you're the Los Angeles Dodgers, mess up everyone else's day by acquiring a heavily sought after player that they really don't need. Come on, baseball. I feel like Aaron Paul and Breaking Bad. They can't keep getting away with this. Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Shohei. Now to get school ball. They didn't need any of these franchise centerpiece players, folks. They just did it because they could. Top five things the Dodgers don't need but will acquire anyway. Number five, the last couple of AAA batteries for your remote control. You ever have that, Dan? Like the remote battery is dying and like you're searching and searching, you find one, but you never find two. That's because the Dodgers got them. Number four, the only compatible kidney your nana needs for her transplant operation. Number three, the leftover Chinese food you had in the work fridge that you had your name on, you were counting on for lunch, but when you opened it up at lunchtime, it's gone. Number two, James Harden. And the number one thing the Dodgers don't need but will acquire anyway. The last Miller Light in the cooler at the cookout.

[Dan Le Batard]

I've put Amin in the bad position of having to use one hand to read through his notes. I'm sorry I did that to you, Amin. How's that? How's that arm feeling right now?

[Tony]

Now.

[Dan Le Batard]

Is it all right?

[Zach Harper]

Feels fine.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay.

[Zach Harper]

It feels fine. I'm in New York City, Dan, to record ptfo, as per usual. I have no idea what it's about. All I know is if you're quiet, Leonard or Chauncey Billups or Terry Rosier or Adam Silver, you should probably tune in. Terry Rosier. Lawyers claim that a text from co conspirator DA lady and an unnamed recipient should exonerate Rosier from any implication in the gambling scheme. Allegedly, Lasser texted someone, don't tell chum Rosier's nickname about the bet. The unnamed recipient replied, hell no. Then the Dodgers bet the under. God damn it. Andrew Friedman, is there anything you'll leave for us? Silence. Jacob Mizrowski hit seven innings with 10 strikeouts that gave only two hits and two earned runs. Nobody beats the Miz. Well, unless you're the worst team in Major League Baseball, then you might beat them in that game. How crazy is that? The Angels, they shut him out.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Zach Harper]

What's the guy gotta do? It feels like the world, or at least the Internet world, is consumed with Sophie Cunningham's opinions on transgender athletes. Athletes, instead of asking themselves, why is Sophie Cunningham a voice of importance? All this focus on Sophie Cunningham is the equivalent of the NBA being obsessed with Aaron Wiggins. What are we doing here, Andrew?

[Dan Le Batard]

Andrew.

[Zach Harper]

No, there's a guy called Aaron Wiggins,

[Mike]

used to play for the Thunder.

[Zach Harper]

That's Andrew for both of you guys.

[Mike]

Aaron Wiggins is no longer.

[Amin Hassan]

We had the wrong B roll, but

[Dan Le Batard]

who was obsessed with Aaron Wiggins? I just saw a picture of Andrew Wiggins show up on my screen.

[Mike]

That's the point. Sophie Cunningham is basically. Aaron Wiggins is the less famous Wigan.

[Zach Harper]

Thank you. Thank you, Tony, for. For being a ball knower.

[Mike]

Thank you, bro. Sorry. That's crazy.

[Dan Le Batard]

They put up a picture of Andrew Wiggins. They put up. The picture on the screen was of Andrew Wiggins. It was

[Zach Harper]

the screen. Can't see the screen. All I'm telling you is that Aaron Wiggins has career averages of, like, eight points a game, just like Sophie Cunningham. Can you imagine if we were all just obsessed with what did Aaron Wiggins say today? And, like, a bunch of, like, press conference questions all aimed at Aaron Wiggins. And then we gotta ask, like, Atlanta star player Jalen Johnson. Yo. What do you think of Aaron Wiggins? Like, it'd be insane. But that's what we're doing here with Toby Cunningham. Kelsey Plum, traded to the Phoenix Mercury after only a season and a half with the Sparks, averaging a career best 24 points per game, the highest scoring average for a player traded mid season in WNBA history. Surprise. The Dodgers didn't pick her up. Like, what are you waiting for, Andrea? Like, oh, I could just. I could use Kelsey Blown.

[Jeremy Tache]

Why?

[Zach Harper]

I don't know. Just because. Cinephone Episode 319American Ninja 4 starring Michael Dudenkopf, but not Steve James. If we really call an American Ninja movie and an American Ninja movie, if the American Ninja. Steve James is not in the American Ninja movie, I say no Cinevo. Wherever you get podcasts. Johnny Infantino, in the span of about 10 days, went from almost making an obscene amount of money by selling off parts of FIFA to having his career being on life support. Good riddance. Can't wait for whoever is even more corrupt and has even less scruples to take over that weird. Like, we're like, get him out of here. Like, the next guy's gonna be any better. The next guy's gonna be worse. Has to be Right.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, it can't be. How much worse can it be?

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How?

[Dan Le Batard]

How?

[Zach Harper]

Always get worse there.

[Dan Le Batard]

How. How much worse can it possibly be? Can't get fooled again. How much worse can it possibly be than trying to, say, sell 20% of something that's not for sale to the Trump family.

[Mike]

Sell 100% of it.

[Zach Harper]

Exactly.

[Tony]

The next guy's name. The next guy's name that is a leading contender to take his job. Victor Montagliani.

[Dan Le Batard]

I mean, get that arm up. I see it getting weaker. Get that shoulder up.

[Zach Harper]

Sorry. Stop sending me American Ninja Warriors. American Ninja Warrior Reels on Ice G. Someone who spends their entire lives trading for this did better than I did as a 40 year old 7 years ago. Color be impressed. Sorry. I've led a full and meaningful life while other people are surrounded by obstacle courses in those foam cubes for 16 hours a day. Ridiculous. All right, so we're. We're on the topic of. Of John Infantino and. And soccer and everything. The big story, obviously is Vinnie junior For Real Madrid. Is he going to get transferred or not? Is he going to get transferred to Arsenal? And I'm wondering how many people are going to connect the dots and realize Arsenal's failure to acquire Vinnie Jr. So far is all. Sam Presti's phone. You guys know about this?

[Dan Le Batard]

No.

[Zach Harper]

Okay, fine. I'll do it. Keep your third eye open, folks. Buckle up. So Vinny's rumor transfer fee would be around $175 million. That would be the third highest in the history of soccer. Right. Arsenal is owned by the Kroenke family, who also own the Denver Nuggets. The Denver Nuggets payroll is currently the second highest in the NBA with an estimated tax bill of $33 million. They're firmly in second apron territory, and that's without having given the contract offer to Peyton Watson. The reason they're in the second apron without Peyton Watson's salary is because they have to match an offer sheet that Spencer Jones got worth two years and $11.75 million. Now, I know what you're thinking. That's not that much money. Yeah, well, the reason Spencer Jones got that offer sheet is because Sam Presti extended that offer sheet despite having a bunch of luxury tax issues of his own. And the reason Sam Presti did that was clearly because he's a Tottenham fan or some, and he hates Arsenal. What a magnificent hater. Because he spent. Because he tendered a contract offer to Spencer Jones, who most people could pick out of the lineup that has put Denver in a payroll situation where they're going to go crazy to the tax to keep paying Watson they actually like, and that as a result has shortened the cash flow that they have available to pay for Vinnie to go from Madrid to Arsenal. Keep your third eye open folks.

[Dan Le Batard]

Why, while you were talking about that, did the video team choose to put up the arms of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers muscularly shaking hands for 12 seconds in press?

[Zach Harper]

Because I'm not done. Because I'm not done. You have to respect it. That hater move. As a fellow hater, I love it. I want to dap Sam Prezi up and call him a son of a while our biceps flex and glisten.

[Dan Le Batard]

There you go. That explains why that was up on the screen before. It should have been.

[Zach Harper]

I shouldn't have explained it. I should have just let it sit there and then it would have been our little joke. Here's the Science a bar Rescue podcast hosted by Chelsea Reynolds, a real life bar and restaurant consultant, Colin Cassard, a real life veteran of the commercial kitchen and food truck scene in Portland, and two guys who will gladly forego an obstacle course in favor of getting a cold one. Me and Zach Harper. Here's the signs wherever you get Podcasts also live. Watch alongs every Monday.

[Dan Le Batard]

That arm's getting tired. That arm's getting tired.

[Zach Harper]

Admit it's the scrolling. It's the scrolling.

[Google Chrome Ad Voice 2]

I know.

[Zach Harper]

Just admit the press.

[Tony]

This is hard.

[Dan Le Batard]

It is impressive. But admit that it's getting a little fatigued. I can see it drop and I understand why it's dropping. It's harder than it looks. It's harder than I think that I thought it was before I tried it.

[Zach Harper]

How long did you last?

[Dan Le Batard]

About this long.

[Zach Harper]

Convenient. All right, last week on here's the Science, we reviewed the episode of the Tonic Lounge in Portland, a bar that had an insect infestation both in their kitchen and in their liquor bottles and mushrooms in their walk in freezer that would have made Wemby look like Brad Williams. Massive mushrooms. It's the literal bar from hell. Speaking of hell, Argentina, those are the weekend observations.

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[Dan Le Batard]

Levitar.

Jessica thinks you're pathetic. I saw the look on her face. It can never be the lane to victory. No, I think Jeremy's pathetic.

[Mike]

Jeremy.

[Jeremy Tache]

Just hear him back deliver. So sad.

[Dan Le Batard]

Most absurd theater kid basketball analysis line that I've ever heard from him.

Jeremy Tache.

[Jeremy Tache]

My dad was talking about the adjustments that SPO made and criticizing him last night. And Jeremy just back here.

[Amin Hassan]

His adjustments were spectacular.

[Jeremy Tache]

It's just like they lost. They're down. O2.

[Dan Le Batard]

This is the D Levata show,

So keep your arm up here till the end of the segment. Only 13 minutes left in the segment here. Bam. Adebayo has said to the Sun Sentinel, oh, look, they found the Indian gentleman whose arm was locked above his head for many, many years, since 1973. Because I was arguing. I mean, that this is much harder than many people think. And I don't think that most people could do it for 24 hours just having done it for the last five minutes. Do you think that there are many dog five minutes?

[Zach Harper]

Are you out of your mind? It's not been five minutes.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, you started at seven.

[Mike]

10 minutes.

[Zach Harper]

It's been. It's been 10 minutes. Okay, it's not been.

[Dan Le Batard]

It's been about as long as I did it for the.

[Zach Harper]

No, I don't believe that either. I don't believe that either.

[Tony]

That feel right?

[Dan Le Batard]

It seems. It seems math a little longer. Scientifically, it might have been a little bit longer.

[Tony]

Yeah. But you give or take territory.

[Jeremy Tache]

I love how Amin won't give us though that. It's like hurting at all. He's like, no, I'm good. This is 100% not. Not feeling anything.

[Amin Hassan]

He's also never been hungover.

[Zach Harper]

I've never been hungover. That's true. Well, I once. I think I. One hangover. One time, it was New Year's Eve, but it's. That was. Well, if I describe to you how much I had that night, it'll be like, yo, why weren't you hospitalized?

[Tony]

Just.

[Zach Harper]

It was. It was crazy.

[Dan Le Batard]

Outside of the Indian gentleman whose arm got stuck in that position because he had it over his head since 1973, do you believe there is anybody who could do that for 24 hours? I mean, given your last 10 minutes, or about as long as I did it for.

[Zach Harper]

I mean, again, like people who surround themselves with obstacle courses and train for sure, but like, if you're a regular person, yeah, 24 hours seemed a little bit like, not quite likely.

[Dan Le Batard]

Bam. Adebayo says to the Sun Sentinel, we'll figure it Out. We don't really worry about the outside noise too much. We've done a lot more with less. That last sentence. We've done a lot more with less than having Giannis onto Takounmpo. He's got it right, right?

[Zach Harper]

Yes. Giannis is the most talented player they've had since LeBron James. Like, that's not. Give me. Give me someone else who's more talented than Giannis.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, he's one of the most talented players, top five that they've ever had wear the uniform. And that's why. That's why you trade anything you have in or anything and everything you have in order to get that into that game. Because many of those players in the league. Give me a number. How many players in the league are there? Pat Riley said he's a top five player in the league. But give me a number of players that you would say are the player that Giannis still is right now.

[Zach Harper]

I would probably say five to seven.

[Dan Le Batard]

Are you going to hold up for the next 10 minutes? Do you think you're going to be able to do this without a problem for the next 10 minutes or are you losing?

[Zach Harper]

No. No. And because it's like my hand is starting to get tingly and I'm worried about that.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay. Like, we'll let you go on that note. We'll call it.

[Zach Harper]

Okay.

[Amin Hassan]

Happy Bam Day.

[Tony]

Yeah. Dan did it longer way.

[Zach Harper]

No, he didn't. I still go. I'm still going. I still haven't. I still haven't quit.

[Dan Le Batard]

I did it a little longer than that, though. Whatever it is. You stop. I did it a little bit. Just a little bit long. Not very couple seconds.

[Zach Harper]

A couple seconds long. Well, here's the deal. I'm gonna leave. I'm gonna leave. You got. You guys are gonna do your show. Whatever. I'm not putting my arm down.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay.

[Zach Harper]

How about that? It's just gonna be up this whole time.

[Dan Le Batard]

I want to play for you a video real quick of something that happened before you leave. Are you interest of videos? Actually, if I can. I want to get the video ready of what that person should have done. I believe in an elevator with a stray dog. Amin would have been mortified as someone who doesn't want stray dogs around him. But would you like to see the world record for the largest hula hoop ever done successfully? Would you like to see the record? Yeah. Pablo Torre said it this weekend. Let's look at this. Here is some B roll here.

[Zach Harper]

It does look like Pablo.

[Jeremy Tache]

What can't he do?

[Zach Harper]

How heavy? How Heavy. Is it?

[Dan Le Batard]

He's going to do it successfully though. For those of you do not have video, how large would you say that hula hoop is?

[Zach Harper]

I mean, I. I don't know, like it's. I want to say like bigger than the circle at mid court of an NBA.

[Jeremy Tache]

What you'd imagine like a large above ground pool.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, batting circle.

[Jeremy Tache]

Yeah, yeah, batting circle.

[Amin Hassan]

Dude, batting circle.

[Jeremy Tache]

Way the on deck circle. No, not the on deck circle. That's the size of a rat. No, home plate is the banding, so.

[Dan Le Batard]

Oh, okay.

[Jeremy Tache]

I thought you meant what's the matter with you?

[Amin Hassan]

But I was thinking the dirt around home plate.

[Zach Harper]

Okay.

[Dan Le Batard]

The other video I want to show you, Amin, is just. I did not know that my dog could get away. I want to show you this video of what happened here. When my dog gets on the elevator, the elevator cannot move, should not move until someone else calls it. Obviously the dog can't leave and press the buttons. But what happens here is a man gets on at a lower floor, what would you do? I mean, if the doors opened on the third floor and this is what greeted you on the third floor when the doors open, A human being, what would you do in that situation?

[Zach Harper]

Is. Is every unit in your building where the elevator just opens up into the unit or, Or. Okay, so I would just kind of like sidestep the dog and then as soon as the door opened, I just try to leave. Yeah, I. Yep. I just do what that guy just did.

[Dan Le Batard]

Okay.

[Mike]

All right.

[Dan Le Batard]

So you wouldn't alert him.

[Jeremy Tache]

In that guy's defense, he could have when he got out there, be like, hey, dog. Someone's dog.

[Dan Le Batard]

No, he didn't do that. Cuz I have the rest of the video. Do you guys have any alerts? Like, would you alert anybody? I mean, would you tell anybody that there's just a dog wandering around here?

[Zach Harper]

I mean, if I saw someone at the desk, I'd be like, hey, man, there's a dog here. But that's about it. That's. That's the extent of my responsibility.

[Dan Le Batard]

So you'd let the dog wander into the street? You'd open the door and let the dog go out with you into traffic and that.

[Zach Harper]

I wouldn't open the door. I'm not a doorman. I'm gonna open the door for the dog. But if I leave and the dog follows me outside, man, that ain't my problem.

[Dan Le Batard]

But you ain't stopping the dog from going outside. You're gonna allow the dog to go outside.

[Zach Harper]

My dog, not my dog, Dan. Like I Just talk to it and touch it, and then it bites me. No, I'm not doing that.

[Tony]

All right.

[Dan Le Batard]

Thank you, Amin. Thank you for nothing.

[Zach Harper]

All right, Dan.

[Mike]

That's called nmp. That's what we call around here. Nmp. Not my problem. Somebody else's problem. Not mine, though.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah, it became my problem. It obviously became my problem.

[Amin Hassan]

His arm.

[Dan Le Batard]

You got to make it more winded. I was super winded

early.

I was super winded. That's right. I have a handful of football stories I want to put in front of you guys. It's a literal handful, but before I do that, I want to put a baseball story that I don't think many people are talking about or anybody is talking about. Harrison Bader of the San Francisco Giants has the rare instance of the team is not paying him. And these contracts tend to be guaranteed in baseball. But the Giants are saying, we are simply not paying you because you got into a scooter accident. I think this detail is important. A couple of details here that are important. You got into a scooter accident at 2am so when I say that all of you. A scooter accident is one thing. When I make it 2:00am I think all of you have a different substance flowing through his system just because it's 2am but the other detail, another important detail is that this is Harrison Bader's second such scooter accident. He had another one in Gainesville. And the San Francisco Giants are saying, not paying you. Now, these contracts have in it certain things that you're not allowed to do. I remember one time, Moises Alou came back and was hurt from the Dominican Republic, and he said he was hurt falling off of a treadmill training. I don't think that's how he got hurt. It was in his contract that there are other ways he couldn't get hurt. One of them was not training on a treadmill. So he said he got hurt on a treadmill. Bader cannot be on a scooter and get into this accident contractually without the Giant saying, we're going to take your money. But here's the part to me that is the reason they're taking his money. He's hitting.170 and his OPS is.550. And they gave him two years and $20 million. Tony Romo situation, and he has stunk. No, not quite. It's kind of.

[Tony]

It's kind of hits better than 170.

[Dan Le Batard]

Well, Romo also makes $18 million for one year. It's not two years. 20 million. They weren't expecting that much from Harrison Bader. What they were expecting is no scooter accidents at 2am it is really rare for them to take guaranteed money. And Harrison Bader just lost his money because he's been a bad baseball player for the Giants. And also, you can't do that at 2am Contractually. There's all sorts of stuff in these contracts where these guys can't like go parasailing or can't ride things like scooters, mopeds, or motorcycles because they run the risk of affecting their guaranteed money.

[Jeremy Tache]

I feel like my guy just has

[Dan Le Batard]

a passion for scooting.

[Jeremy Tache]

I feel bad for him.

[Dan Le Batard]

Can you look up for me, Jeremy, the details on his other scooter accident in Gainesville? Didn't he run into a fire truck or something?

[Amin Hassan]

So he ran into a fire truck. In this one, he ran into a fire engine, which then rolled over the foot that was already injured. He had plantar fasciitis in his left foot. That was why he'd missed time. So, yeah, they're really concerned long term about this. The other one was indeed an alcohol related scooter incident while he was a sophomore at UF. He was suspended for 19 games. I will find specifically what he ran into there.

[Dan Le Batard]

The other one was the alcohol related one?

[Amin Hassan]

Yeah, the other.

[Google Chrome Ad Voice 2]

The other one.

[Dan Le Batard]

What do you guys think if I just say to you, no other details, someone ran into a fire truck on a scooter at 2am I give you no other details other than that. You're assuming he's drunk, right? You're just assuming it.

[Tony]

Context clues.

[Dan Le Batard]

Which is it? Is it the 2am or is it the fire truck?

[Zach Harper]

Truck.

[Mike]

The scooter.

[Zach Harper]

Really?

[Mike]

Yeah, we had used to have them

[Zach Harper]

all over the place.

[Mike]

Mike, you. You freaking around the same place as I do. No more scooters anymore. No birds, no lines, no nothing. Because everybody used to get, you know, charged up and then all of a sudden, hey, I'm gonna get on the scooter.

[Dan Le Batard]

Dude, that's a sick idea.

[Jeremy Tache]

Let's go.

[Amin Hassan]

He hit a curb and then struck a parked pickup truck on his motorized scooter at 2am led to a hospitalization and that 19 game suspension that's in college over 10 years ago now. We did it again.

[Tony]

Full kinky, fooled again.

[Dan Le Batard]

Do you guys believe that Harrison Bader will ever ride a scooter again?

[Amin Hassan]

Yes.

[Dan Le Batard]

Really?

[Jeremy Tache]

Yeah. Clearly.

[Dan Le Batard]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Tache]

No, you got to get a driver and hop on back and hold him from around the way.

[Dan Le Batard]

Dual scooter. You say clearly, Jeremy. I don't think he learned it the first time. I think he has now learned it. He didn't learn it as a sophomore in college. He has now learned it. I don't. I believe that. I believe that he now has an allergy to scooters. This is. This is cursed scooter luck. You go ahead and give me all the people in the history of scooters and people that you know to have gotten into two of these accidents, costing one of them, costing him millions of dollars. You don't get into two scooter accidents. That's not that. Once you've gotten into the second scooter accident, and it's cost you perhaps the rest of your major league career because you were already hurt and already a failure with the Giants. And now the Giants are making a fairly extraordinary step. These are two San Francisco teams that have now done this. The 49ers did it to IUK, and now the Giants are saying, hey, give us our money back. This guaranteed money.

[Google Chrome Ad Voice 2]

Give it back.

[Mike]

That substation. Something's going on there, dog.

[Tony]

How does a head coach get hurt, too?

[Dan Le Batard]

I saw that not a whole lot of people were doing with Kyle Shanahan what it is that we were doing. On not believing his story.

[Tony]

Yes. What we were doing.

[Dan Le Batard]

You believe. I'm the only one who was not believing his.

[Tony]

Georgia said not many people were doing what we were doing, and that's an interesting way to frame it.

[Dan Le Batard]

Wait, what you do?

[Tony]

This ain't a RICO situation, Jack.

[Dan Le Batard]

I just didn't believe that Kyle Shanahan, in explaining himself, did himself any favors in getting us closer to the truth. I think we were further from the truth after his explanation than we were when we started.